


A sunny, cloudless thursday afternoon

by Rena3chan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Betrayal, Blood, Childhood, Death, F/M, Fear, Insanity, Lies, Nightmares, Ocean, Pain, Psychological Torture, Tears, Titans, Torture, Truth, friends - Freeform, hostage, knowledge, outside world, slave - Freeform, thieves, walls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-13 07:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17483816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rena3chan/pseuds/Rena3chan
Summary: Wanting to gain knowledge about the world, Aretha leaves Erwin behind and promises to meet him again one day. That happens, and both knew that the circumstances would be horrible, and what follows would be more frightening, than Aretha nor Erwin could have imagined. Tears, pain, death. Three things, that are normal in the Survey Corps, but with the new person, these three things will be increased, making it hard for Erwin to protect her life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know, how I got this idea, but I will try to write it till the end. I am sorry for every mistake I make, trying to keep the number low. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> Love, Rena

Aretha Mockingbird.

A girl, who was not the prettiest, not the smartest and not the most talkative on Erwin Smith's school. Nevertheless the blue eyed girl had such an mysterious aura, what made her the most interesting person.

Walking through the door, her black hair, which barely reached her shoulders, was flying back, and the way she was walking, was unique. Each footstep was unerring, making it seem as if she always knew where she wanted to go, what was her goal. Every time she talked, Erwin compared her words with rose petals, each word beautiful and soft, he wanted to collect them, so he would not forget one of them.

Her piercing blue eyes fixed the teacher in the front of the class, but her body faced the students, when the teacher introduced her. “This is our new student, Aretha Mockingbird. Tell something about you”, sitting down at his desk, the teacher awaited the black haired girl to talk to the students about herself. “I hate to tell my age, because I think that people reduce me on it, so I simply do not do it. I do not like my birthday, because my father died on that exact day. I do like to read, quite a lot. That is all, I am not a really interesting person”, her words were plain, the smile, which danced on the girls pink lips was soft, making the words more beautiful than they actually were. The voice was strong, as unerring as her footsteps, made it seem as if the blue eyed girl always knew, what she needed to say.

“When is your birthday?”, one of the boys asked, raising his hand as he did so. Blue eyes fixed him, not emotionless, they were rather soft, still they were not expressing how she felt. It was a mystery. Somehow Aretha managed to cover what she really felt, her mood, without seeming emotionless. Erwin could not describe the way she was looking at his classmate, who blushed a little under the new girl's gaze. The boy, who asked, did not know whether it was the way Aretha was looking at him or if he was just amazed by the intensity of the blue of eyes stare. “As I already told you, my father's anniversary of the death is my birthday.”

Turning her gaze to the floor, keeping her head up, Aretha walked to an empty seat, which was two seats behind Erwin on the right. If he turned his head a little to the right side, he could see her silhouette in his blind spot. The blond boy was impressed by his new classmate, so impressed that he wanted to get to know her. Two weeks passed after the new student arrived, and Aretha got really popular over these two weeks. When she was asked, why she chose to go on that school, Aretha answered, that on her old school no one knew, what really mattered. After this answer, the most students started to ask them selves, what actually mattered in life, giving Aretha control over their minds.

They started to listen to the girl talking about a lot of things, mostly about her view on the world. She said, that she was bored of the current world, and no one disagreed, they all agreed. Another day, she talked about how the books in school are more confusing than informing and again everyone agreed, at least she thought that everyone did so. Erwin did not agree with her opinion of the world, they knew, was boring, but that the schoolbooks were not informing that well, he agreed, nevertheless the books did not really confuse him. After one or two more weeks of him listening to Aretha talking, her voice sounding as if she would read out a poetry, when she talked about her point of view, Erwin approached her after classes were over.

Aretha was sitting on a bench in front of the school building, writing something in her notebook, which was lying on her lap. Her black hair covered the right side of her face, but she did not bother to put it behind her ear or bind it together, she wore her hair always open, letting it cover her neck and hovering above her shoulders.

Erwin sat down next to her, fixing her with his gaze and noticing, that she was so focused on her notebook, that his presence was not acknowledged. “I do not agree with you”, he said, turning his gaze toward the sky. Some clouds were there, white, not predicting rain on the sunny Thursday. “What do you mean?”, Closing her notebook, Aretha turned her gaze toward the sky as well.

After Erwin cleared his throat, making Aretha turn her blue eyes to face him, the boy answered: “The world is not boring, we just do not know much about it.” Smiling, Aretha put her hands on the bench, gripping tight on to the first plank. “When we get to know more about the titans, for example, the world will get more…” Erwin did not know, how to express his thoughts. “Interesting.” There it was again, the unerring voice of Aretha, always knowing what to say.

“That is what I think as well.” Now Erwin's blue eyes were looking into Aretha's blue eyes with a surprised expression. “But-” The black haired girl did not let Erwin finish his sentence, interrupting him, putting her hair behind her ear as she talked. “I know what I said, but I wanted someone to read between the lines. Finally someone, who is not just listening and not using his own brain to think, only absorbing the thoughts of others, not even considering to make some himself.” Erwin was confused, he did not read between the lines, he just said what he thought. And he said that to Aretha, who laughed. “That is what I call reading between the lines. You thought about what I said, didn't you, Erwin?”, being a little disappointed about the blue eyed girl stopping to laugh, because Erwin liked her laugh, he started to think again.

Aretha made him think a lot about a lot of different things, but he did not mind, in the contrary he was happy. “Yes”, he answered as he was done thinking. “So, that is reading between the lines. You did not just use my point of view, making it yours. You made yourself one, with mine as basis, you came up with your own opinion”, Erwin smiled at Aretha, who stood up and asked, if she could walk Erwin home. Nodding he also got up and they walked away. After some timer Aretha started to talk again.

“What matters to you?”, she asked, turning her gaze toward Erwin, whose got a thoughtful expression. The blond boy was not sure, how he should tell the girl. Smiling, Erwin went through his hair with his right hand, as he came up with something. “What do you know about the walls?”, he asked in return. Black hair flew up, as a soft breeze came up, but Aretha was not bothered by it, because she was deep in thoughts, recalling what she learned about the walls, that was keeping humanity apart from the dangerous titans. “They are built to protect us”, Aretha finally answered. “They separate us from the titans, so we will not be devoured by them.” Erwin considered a way to go on, to tell her what mattered to him, what he wanted to gain. “And what do they do as well?”, and again Aretha was thinking. Erwin never saw her with a thoughtful expression before, after all she was always the person, who talked, but never was asked questions. Due to the fact, that Aretha was good in school, she does not have to think long, so a thoughtful expression never appeared on her face before. “They separate us from the outside world. We know practically nothing about it”, putting her black hair behind her ear, Aretha looked at the walls.

They were enormous, causing her to feel like an animal in a cage. “Yes, and I want to gain knowledge about the outside world. I want to get to know the truth.” Aretha smiled happily, her heart starting to beat faster. As they arrived at Erwin's house, Aretha hugged Erwin to say good-bye, leaving a blushing mess, when she left to go home herself. After that day, Aretha always waited for Erwin at the schools entrance to walk him home, so she could talk to him and discuss about topics, that mattered a lot to her, and discuss about topics, that mattered to Erwin a lot.

Erwin found out, that her mother got depressed, when Aretha was seven years old. She stopped taking care of her daughter, forcing her to learn how to take care of herself to survive. The military sent them money, so they could afford living, even though her father was dead. Aretha knew how to cook, clean, do the dishes and taking care of illnesses. The girl was cooking meals for her mother, bringing them to her bedroom, that she had not left for a long time, except for going to the toilet.

“My mother stopped eating”, Aretha told Erwin one day, as they were walking to Erwin's house, what became their ritual after school was over. It was a Friday, the sun was shining, nevertheless some grey clouds were on the sky, making the atmosphere a bit more tense. That was the day, that Erwin could tell the way the girl felt, by looking into her eyes, which normally did not express her feelings. Three weeks passed since the day, that Erwin told Aretha about his view on the world. He fell for the girl, liking everything about her. The way she talked, walked, laughed, smiled, played with her hair, bit her lip and so on, he liked everything about her.

Due to his affections toward her, Erwin did not want her to feel sad. “She will start to eat again”, he said, putting one hand on her shoulder to cheer her up. Turning the gaze to Erwin, Aretha noticed his loving smile, which made her feel better, a warm feeling spreading in her chest. “No”, she sighed and smiled sadly. In that moment Erwin realised, that Aretha's mother wanted to kill herself by not eating and a feeling of sympathy crawled up in him. The rest of the way they stayed silent, the people, who walked by were the only source of noise. If they would not be walking past, the girl and the boy, chatting and laughing, it would be completely silent.

When they reached Erwin's front door, Aretha hugged him, but this time it was in a slightly different way. She pressed her body really tight against his, causing Erwin to do the same. It felt like the whole world stopped moving, causing the blond to forget his surroundings, not acknowledging them. He only felt Aretha's body sharing its warmth with his, her breath tickled his neck, sending shivers down his spine. “See you tomorrow”, a soft smile was on Aretha's face as she answered. “Yes… tomorrow…”

The next day, she did not come to school, but Erwin did not pay a lot of attention to it, telling himself that she was just sick. Five days passed and Aretha still did not show up. Rumour’s started to spread, one was more ridiculous than the other. “She was always a mysterious girl, maybe she committed a crime, to escape the boredom of the world?”, a girl said, but Erwin did not pay attention to it. He stopped telling himself, that Aretha was just simply ill. Nevertheless he did not think, that she ran away, because she never talked about it, but on the other hand she did not need to inform anyone about wanting to run away to actually do it. Another week passed, the rumour's stopped being ridiculous, there were some dumb things, but the most were plausible. For example, that she went to another school, became bored of the one they went to.

After school ended, Erwin walked home. There he followed his routine, first eating, second doing his homework, third studying, fourth going to bed. But that night had some unexpected turns. As Erwin laid down and started to fall asleep, being covered by his blanked and feeling comfortable on his pillow, he heard a knock.

Brushing it of, figuring that he just imagined it, Erwin did not bother to check where the noise came from, neither what it was. Then another knock could be heard, now louder. Interested and confused Erwin got up and almost got a heart attack as he saw a human sitting on the windowsill on the other of his window. Slowly and carefully he opened the window and let Aretha come into his room. The blue eyes, that were as clear as the sky on a sunny, cloudless day, met Erwin's blue eyes.

Blue met blue, seeming as if two ocean's crushed into each other, becoming one. Neither of them talked, until Aretha parted her lips to break the silence. “What did you always wanted to do?”, no greeting, no apology nor explanation for her missing school. Erwin did not know what to answer at first, but after he was fully awake, he answered. “Join the Survey Corps.”

Aretha rolled her eyes, grabbing Erwin's wrists and intensifying her gaze, causing shivers run down the boys spine. “That the future. I am talking about the present. We will do everything you always wanted to do, tonight.” Starting to go through Erwin's closet, she picked out some clothes for him to wear, because Erwin could not run around in his sleepwear. She picked out a white top and brown trousers, the exact same outfit she wore herself.

After giving it to Erwin, Aretha was looking at him with an impatient expression, telling Erwin to change quickly. The boy refused to do so, because first, he was overwhelmed by the situation. Aretha was gone for almost two weeks, not a single sign of her still being alive, her mother died due starvation some time ago, so no one could possibly know where she was. Second, he did not want to change in front of her, he felt uncomfortable doing so.

“What is the matter? I already had sex, I know how the body of a male looks like”, Aretha did not seem to understand, that Erwin did not want her to see him naked. “I do not want you to see me…” Rolling her eyes, the girl smiled amused, thinking that Erwin's behaviour was really cute, she turned around. She pressured him by saying, that they needed to hurry, or else the time would cut their plans. “I am hurrying, but what will we do?”, Erwin just got rid of his top, leaving him naked, because he did not sleep with his underwear.

Aretha turned around, cupping his face in her warm, soft palms and repeated: “Whatever you want to do, darling. This will be your night.” Erwin was blushing hardly and Aretha noticed, that she turned around, when Erwin was naked. Giggling, her eyes not turning away from Erwin's, she suggested, that she was absolutely fine, if Erwin wanted to get intimate with her. “No!”, Erwin exclaimed, grabbing the black haired girl by her shoulders and pushing out of his room, so he could get dressed.

“Do you not think, that I am attractive? Am I not attractive enough for you?”, Aretha sounded amused, making fun of Erwin's innocence. “You are beautiful, but there are a lot of things we could do instead, like throwing addled eggs at the military police man's house, who took away your book about the outside world”, Erwin said, as he opened the door for Aretha.

She remembered the day, she was complaining about the man, who confiscated the book about the languages, that existed before the population started to use only one, because it was the only logical thing to do. Aretha's eyes scanned the boys, now dressed body, making him blush. “I wanted to do that”, smiling, she cupped his face in her palms again. “The question was, what you would like to do.”

Embracing Aretha's hands with his, Erwin fixed her with his eyes, letting the ocean's meet again. “I want you to get revenge, to gain knowledge”, and with that, they left. Aretha stole some eggs from a shop nearby, going to the house of the man and placing them on the floor. “We will not get caught, won't we?”, Erwin was worried, after all he wanted to join the Survey Corps, so he could not allow himself to get into trouble. “Did you not think about it, before you said you wanted to do this?”, Aretha balanced an egg on her fingertips, catching it, as it threatened to fall down and break. “Well… yes, but I…”

In that moment, Erwin wished he would have Aretha's ability to talk unerring. The girl placed the egg on the floor, carefully, and sat down on the floor, signalising her almost partner in crime to do the same. “What do you want to do?”, she asked again. Erwin grew sick of that question, because he did not know, what he wanted to do, he did not know the answer. “I want you to have that book back”, he said, knowing that he will regret the answer. “Are you su-”

The boy cut the girl off by placing his index finger on her lips. “Better than nothing, huh?” Aretha smiled. “You will knock and say, that you got lost and need help. When the man is distracted, I will sneak in and steal it back.” Nodding in agreement, Erwin got up and knocked at the door, after taking some deep breaths. Aretha's plan worked out pretty good. Aretha walked around the house, searching for an opened window to get in. As she found one, which was the window to the bedroom, she got into the house. Knowing, that the man was married, the girl was as quiet as possible, so she would not wake the sleeping wife.

She started to look through the shelves, still trying to be as quiet as possible. When the girl found her book, she sneaked out the kitchen window, which brought her into an alley on the right side on the house. Erwin was listening to the sleepy man, who told him in which direction he had to go, gesturing with his arm to the right side. “Thank you sir, thanks a lot”, Erwin smiled and waited for the man to go inside again. As the door fell shut, Aretha ran up to him and showed him her haul, making the boy sigh out of relieve.

“The adrenaline is still rushing through my veins”, chuckling, Erwin pressed his left hand on his, really fast beating, heart. Aretha laughed out loud, becoming silent after a second, due to the possibility to wake someone. "That is how you know, that you are alive." The moon put Aretha into a silver-blue light, making her cheekbones throw shadows on her round face, making her look like the mysterious girl she was.

Erwin blushed a little at the sight. Grabbing the boys hand, Aretha walked toward the enormous walls, that made her feel like an animal, a weak animal trapped in a cage of lies, which the powerful people fed her with, fed the humans in the walls with.

“I want to show you something”, Aretha told Erwin after some time of silence. “What if I want to do something else? In the end, this is my night”, smiling the blue eyed girl turned her face to look Erwin in the eyes. “What do you want to?”, she asked, stopping in her motion. “To look at what you want to show me”, Erwin answered, making Aretha role her eyes and keep walking, holding Erwin's hand.

Again, some time passed, in which Erwin wanted to ask, where they were going, but he doubted, that Aretha would tell him. “We will go on the wall, to look at the city in the beautiful moonlight”, Aretha told Erwin, as if she would read his mind. Nevertheless, any one would be questioning, where they would go in the middle of the night. “I know someone, who will bring us up there.”

A military police man, not older than nineteen, waited for the two teens to arrive. First he brought up Aretha with the three-dimensional manoeuvre device, and as he got to the ground again, he wanted to bring Erwin up.

“How do you know Aretha?”, the man asked, as he grabbed the blonds waist. The boy was unsure, what awaited him on the top of the wall, but he was eager to see it. “School, you?”, he asked in return. “We had… a thing, let's put it like that, I owe her one”, and then he brought Erwin up. Aretha was standing at the edge of the wall, looking at the city beneath them. Slowly Erwin approached the girl, stopping to her left side and sitting down. Aretha sat down as well.

“It smelt like sweat in the man's bedroom. He had sex with his wife”, black rose petals, Erwin thought. “We are not going to talk about a military police man's sex life with his wife.” Turning her head slowly, Aretha revealed an amused smile dancing on her lips, the same she had in Erwin's bedroom some hours ago.

Parting her lips, she got Erwin's attention, who turned his head to look into her blue eyes. They were so clear, such a blue was rare and the rarity of it made Aretha more special, than she already was. Her looks managed to fit her personality, or did she match her personality to fit her looks?

“You think that sex makes someone dirty? It does not, it is normal, a normal urge”, Aretha stood up, not wanting to discuss about the topic any more. Holding her hand toward Erwin, signalising for him to stand up as well. The blond boy grabbed her hand and Aretha helped him to stand up, but she did not let go of his hand as he was standing. “Let's dance”, Erwin agreed and took the lead.

The police man watched the two silhouette's and smiled as he compared them to two leaves, which fell from a tree in the autumn. Their movements were smooth and beautiful, they were like two ocean's, deep and mysterious, crushing together and becoming one deep and mysterious place. The boy and the girl stopped after twenty minuets of dancing.

Aretha's face was only inches away from Erwin's, and she moved closer. She was really close to him, her lips hovering over his, but not touching them, letting Erwin feel the cold, that her lips transmitted. They were not touching, but they would if one of them would move just a little, but they did not.

“I will leave now”, Aretha said, breaking the magical moment, her warm breath was a contrast to her cold lips. Erwin did not know what he should say, he could scream and yell, talk soft and smooth, trying to convince her to stay, but Aretha would go any way, because she wanted to.

“I want to get to know, what the world really is like”, walking to the edge of the wall again, she turned her body, so her back was facing the city behind her and her eyes fixed Erwin. None of them said something.

After some time, Aretha walked up to a wooden box, opened it and took out a three-dimensional manoeuvre device and put it on. “I was gone for the last two weeks, learned how to use this, gaining money, by working a lot at different places, to pay for food and such things. I prepared a lot for my enterprise”, her hands were moving as unerring as she talked and walked. Overwhelmed by the situation, Erwin did not know what to do, so he just admired her single-mindedness.

As Aretha was done, she got back at the edge of the wall, looking at Erwin with her blue eyes, her black hair framing her round face and a smile, dancing on her lips.

“We will meet again. On a sunny, cloudless Thursday afternoon, Erwin Smith. So do not dare to die, before we see each other again and can talk about what we got to know about the world.” Spreading her arms, Aretha let herself fall down. Before she crashed down onto the ground, she used the device and swung away, leaving Erwin alone. He did not even get the chance to answer or to say good-bye.

“Let's go”, the man, who brought them up, said behind Erwin, getting his attention. When Erwin's feet touched the ground again, he walked home, knowing, that Aretha would keep her promise and they would meet again.

Some sunny day, they would talk again and he looked forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A law suit is taking place, the counsellors nervous and Erwin eager to get Aretha into the Survey Corps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it is okay.
> 
> Enjoy 
> 
> Love, Rena

_“One day you will see the truth, maybe you will not,_

_one day you will feel betrayed, maybe not,_

_one day the veil will be removed and the moonlight comes to your eyes, maybe not._

_The maybes are only for the dumb ones.”_

Blue eyes were looking amused at the man, who read out the poetry, the owner of these eyes left behind in a store, she broke into. An amused smile danced on her lips, as Aretha put her left leg over her right one, resting her head on her left palm. The elbow hurt a little, pressing on her left leg, but she did not pay attention to it.

Aretha was sitting in a cell, under the surface, after being caught by the attempt to steal a forbidden scroll the night before, in which she stole some bread in a small store as well. The scroll was stored in the military police' depot, to which Aretha has been a lot of times over the last years. Breaking in, she never left any clues, her work being absolutely perfectly done, making the other thieves envy her. Only a poetry was left behind, mostly in an envelope, on the counter or under the doormat, but not completely hidden under it, so the shop owner could still find it.

“Do you even know, what punishment you will receive?”, the man laughed malicious, but Aretha did not care, giggling because of the childish behaviour. His brown eyes, which looked slightly threatening in the light of the torch, attached to the wall, fixed the blue ocean in the captured ones. “Twenty four years, not being caught, doing what I want, getting what I want, actually getting away with it, except for this time. Do you really think I do not know, what awaits me, darling?”, Aretha stood up, walking over to the man, who was not sure what to do, so he only stood there not moving an inch.

Over the last years Aretha grew up, becoming not the prettiest, smartest nor most talkative woman, but her aura has never changed, making her the most interesting person someone could meet. Only her silhouette, in someone's blind spot, was enough to cause the one think about her, due to her incredible appearance.

“Darling, I will die in the next few days, and I am absolutely aware of it”, her hot breath hit the face of the military police man, who could smell the coffee, which Aretha got from one of his comrades, that was with her before that one came. He got it for her, because she was about to fall asleep, at least she pretended, and she was supposed to stay awake for the law suit, to which she needed to go.

The dirt under her fingernails and the greasy black hair and the dirt covered body as well as clothes, would make any woman look horrible and unattractive, but her looks were not the reason, why so many men fell for Aretha, it was her personality. It was as mysterious as it has always been, not changing a bit, making her unpredictable and everyone was eager to find out what she would do next. The man was not sure, why so many other male's fell for her, but then Aretha touched his chin, lifting it slightly, by grabbing through the bars of her cell.

“I know so much, so much about things, which you do not even know exist. Dying in this stinking cell, next to these cadavers of rats and pee on the floor is worth the knowledge, I gained over the last twenty four years. And darling, when I will be hanged, I will laugh, knowing why I am hanged. The real reason.” For several minutes it was silent, Aretha's fingers, which held the man's head up, uttered cold to the body part they pushed up, the ocean in her eyes was stormy, making her gaze vivid, more vivid than any other the brown eyes had ever seen before, and the man now realised, what made her attractive. Aretha's talking was unerring, as well as her walking, making her really self-confident.

“Actually…”, the man was overwhelmed by the stormy ocean in Aretha's eyes, and the woman knew it. She opened her eyes a little more, waiting for the man to talk, lifting her head and the smile still dancing on her lips. “They are debating, whether you should be hanged or come to the Survey Corps.”

Letting go of the chin, turning around and staring at the stone wall of the cell, Aretha started to think, what was better. Going to the Survey Corps was as deadly as rope itself and she could share what she got to know over the years, it being actually helpful. On the other hand, the government was considering her as a way to big threat, so there was a fifty-fifty chance. Secretly, Aretha hoped to join the Survey Corps.

The dungeon smelled horrible, the scent of death, several body fluids and fire of the burning torches crawled up the humanity strongest soldier's nose. He crinkled his nose, not standing the scent, which reminded him of his old home, the underground. The place, that has no rules, laws not being obeyed and starving people in every alley, surviving was practically impossible, but some managed to do so. Levi also managed to make a carrier on the surface. Walking to Aretha's cell, the footsteps echoed in the halls, sounding threatening. The raven haired man did not know, what Aretha was like, he only heard some thing's in the debate he was in.

 

_“She is a threat!”, one of the kings counsellors yelled, hitting the table with his hand, while doing so._

_“Even the biggest threat can be used as a weapon. Everything can be used for our really ambitious project, we need her”, Erwin's voice was calm and deep, making his arguments sound formal and logical. “What if-”, Levi interrupted the man, before he could throw another argument, against Aretha joining the Survey Corps, into the discussion._

_Grey eyes were starring at the counsellor, causing him to sweat, due to the uncomfortable feeling he got. “The only thing you say is, that she is a threat. Not more, no actual arguments”, standing up, Levi revealed his height, which did not match the appearance and the character of the man at all. His height was more for someone, who was innocent and cute, but Levi was the complete opposite of that._

_“Just give her some months, if she is no use, she is all yours, do whatever you want with that piece of shit”, Erwin's body stiffened a little by hearing the words, that escaped Levi's mouth._

 

The rather short man's footsteps echoed in the dungeon, as he arrived at Aretha's cell and looked at the woman.

Her black hair was reaching to the middle of her shoulder blades, and it has not been washed for the last four days, being greasy. The small hands of the woman, who was only bigger by two inches, making her 5'5, were dirty as well, with dirt under her fingernails, and all over her body and clothes. But that were not the thing's, that Levi noticed, it was her aura, causing shivers run down his body.

Levi lifted his head, looking at the woman, whose blue eyes were not showing her feelings, but not looking emotionless, as his were. “Aretha Mockingbird, tch”, clicking his tongue, he noticed the storm her ocean like eyes had in them. Not changing his stoic expression, Levi opened the cell and put handcuffs around her small wrists and lead her out of the cell, leaving the military police man behind. “Twenty four years, huh? How did such a brat as you manage to escape the government?”, asking Aretha, he turned his gaze towards her, wanting to see, if any feeling or emotion was expressed by her clear blue eyes. Not seeing one, he let his eyes look forward again, listening to Aretha's unerring talking.

“Skills, Levi, that is the big secret. Simple but efficient.” Levi did not know why he liked to listen to her, but it appealed to him, the thought of only sitting and listening to her for some time. Rethinking, he figured it was the way she talked, like she read out a poetry to him, and he paid attention to the way she walked. Each footstep being unerring, as unerring as her talking, making it seem, as if she always knew, what she had to say next.

“Can I at least wash my face, before we attend the law suit?”, Aretha asked, not turning her head toward Levi, to look at him. The man only nodded, what Aretha acknowledged in her blind spot, and she smiled a little.

On their way to the bathroom, she asked Levi, how he managed to join the Survey Corps. “The commander likes to pick up shit from the streets”, was all the raven haired answered. Aretha laughed at his answer, hair falling down, when she lifted her head. “Well, then I do not know why you are here, due to the fact that you are obviously not shit.” The stoic expression did not change, but Levi's eyes lit up a little at the compliment.

“Should I tell you something?”, Aretha asked, after she had left the bathroom. She was actually pretty, Levi thought to himself, but did not pay a lot of attention to it. Not waiting for an answer, Aretha continued talking to the humanity strongest. “I am fascinated by smiling people. But what I find more interesting, is the way people look, when they are lost in thought, when their face becomes angry or serious, or they simply have a stoic expression”, Aretha was walking next to Levi, stopping in front of the hall, in which the law suit should be held. Turning her gaze to Levi, she talked again, causing him to look at her with his grey eyes. The ocean was not stormy any more, it was quiet and somehow peaceful, nevertheless that was way more threatening, than the storm. A serious expression was on her clean face, being a big contrary to her dirty body and clothes, because she knew, what awaited her.

The death penalty.

“A smile is so much more worth, when it is rare. The smiles, of such people, are like diamonds, rare and beautiful.”

The doors swung open, revealing the mass of people, all form the military. The military police, to which only the ten best cadets of each training group could join, watching over the people in the walls, paying attention to the laws being obeyed. The garrison, their soldiers where watching over the walls, so if the titans would break in, they could react immediately, so the population would be save. And the Survey Corps, the scouts were going outside, to the world behind the walls, trying to find out as much as possible about the human devouring titans.

When Aretha walked in, her incredible aura took over the room, making the soldiers in there having a feeling, they could not describe. It was new, kind of interesting and it was supported by the way the black haired woman acted, including her walk. “Aretha Mockingbird, you are here, because of the crimes you committed over the last twenty four years. That would be”, Darius Zachary, the highest animal of the military, was looking at his papers. He had the appearance of an old man, with his sunken in eyes, that were supported by glasses, the face showed obvious wrinkles and his hair was grey, due to his age. Nile Dok, the commander of the military police, was standing next to him at the high rostrum. He had thin black hair and dark eyes, being the average height and build. There was also Dot Pixis, the commander of the garrison, who was a bald man, with a distinguished moustache and noticeable wrinkles under his eyes. Erwin Smith had changed a lot. The ocean in his eyes was about to be completely frozen, not giving the possibility of his and Aretha's ocean to become one, as they did so often in, when they were younger. His blond hair was neatly done and his gaze was threatening.

Aretha did not know the man, who was standing there, staring at her from the high rostrum, but she knew why. Being in the Survey Corps is not a lot of fun, seeing your comrades being devoured and always having the humans nagging on him, because he did not gain any knowledge about them. Under them were sitting the counsellors of the king, but the king himself was not there. The men were all overweight and dressed in the finest clothes. They nauseated the blue eyed woman so much, but she did not let any body notice it.

“Stealing illegal documents, breaking in, impersonation and murder.” Erwin stiffened, as he saw the smile, that danced on Aretha's lips. She did not change at all, making her unpredictable to him, nonetheless, he would do everything to protect her life. Not only because she had much knowledge, that was useful for him and humanity.

“I did not murder any one. That was proven wrong, look at your papers, sir”, her talking was as unerring as it has been twenty four years ago. “Yes, I stole documents, that contained information about the world. But I did it, because it was necessary”, she tried to argue. “No, there is a reason they are locked up and no one is allowed to read them, it is law. The law is hard, but it is the law”, a counsellors voice echoed in the hall, his words making Aretha smile.

Her gaze fixed him, provoking him. “But why?”, simple words. Two simple words, that managed the four men, who were the kings confidant, break out in sweat. “Because it is dangerous.”

Aretha turned her body around, to face the soldiers of the garrison. “What are you, gentlemen and ladies, protecting?”, the soldiers started to think. That was Aretha's talent, making people think about the world, thought Erwin, and he felt confident again. Maybe she was able to get herself out of this alive. “The humans”, one said. “Not only. Think again.” Aretha's ocean started to get stormy again, but her feelings were unidentifiable. Levi hated it, standing with the garrison's soldiers, with the scouts. Both of the groups were against the death of the woman, considering that her knowledge, which she gained on illegal way, could help them.

“The walls”, another said. “Not only. You do not know the third thing, don't you? Let me tell you. The secrets, the king and the nobles hide and I found them out”, Aretha was causing the soldiers grow suspicious, and the four men were sweating more. “And you, scouts. How many of your comrades died in front of your eyes? And they died for nothing, their death was not worth a broken egg.” The scouts tensed up, even Levi, who usually did not show his feelings, tensed up a little, nevertheless no one noticed.

One of the counsellors stood up and yelled extremely loud: “Do not listen to her! She is trying to manipulate you!” Aretha fixed Erwin with her gaze, signalising him, to raise his voice, when she finished talking.

“Who says, you are not?”

And then Erwin parted his lips. The blond man did not know, how Aretha got the information, but he did know, that she had it, by the way she looked at him. Aretha had looked at him the way, she just had, when she knew something, before he told it to her, when they were young, and Aretha was happy and relieved, that Erwin understood her silent sign.

“We need her in the Survey Corps. Her knowledge is worth a lot, and we will take her on expeditions”, the expeditions were deadly, as deadly as the rope itself, and everyone was aware of it, causing the atmosphere to get tense.

The four counsellors were mumbling a little, but Aretha could figure, what they were talking about.

Nervous, frightened was the way they looked at each other, worried, that she would reveal something, that should stay under the water. Wanting to prevent that in the first place, they wanted to kill her as fast as possible, but Erwin interfered really quickly, practically saving Aretha's life by doing that. They had no choice besides the law suit.

With the intention to end the law suit, they agreed.

“Aretha Mockingbird has to be part of the next expedition, that will take place in two months.”

Darius Zachary let his hammer make a sound, that echoed in the hall, leaving a tension, which was causing Erwin's chest to contract.

Aretha Mockingbird just joined the Survey Corps.


	3. Hange Zoë

As Erwin's blue eyes saw Aretha, with her wrists being held together by handcuffs, her unwashed, greasy black hair and dirty clothes, which were a mentionable contrast to her clean face, a feeling of relieve took over him. A quiet ocean was in her eyes, unerring footsteps echoing in the hall, as she walked in, bringing her aura in, which caused a lot of memories run through his mind. Black hair flying around, blue eyes fixing his, strong hands gripping his shoulders.

Aretha was not ready to die, and Erwin knew it, she did not know everything, she wanted to know, did not see everything, she wanted to see, she did not say everything, that was on her mind. The woman was someone, who decided herself, when she was ready to pass away, to leave life behind and let death wrap her up, in its black blanket, and now was not the time.

Darius Zachary started to talk, saying, what crimes were committed by the criminal, whose age was as much a mystery as her next action. “I did not murder any one. That was proven wrong, look at your papers, sir”, Aretha argued, her voice sounding as if she would read out one of the countless poetries, she wrote over the last twenty four years. Some ups, some downs, but melodic, every change sounding as if it was planned, rehearsed in front of a mirror, which it was not. It was the usual way to talk for Aretha Mockingbird, making everyone listen to her, each soldier focusing on her lips, wanting to collect every rose petal that escaped them.

The four counsellors under Erwin, were in contrary afraid of the words, and Erwin was not really sure why. He knew, but he could not really understand, being honest with himself. And there it was, Aretha being Aretha, making others think about their life, things that mattered, at least to her.

As one of the counsellors started to get loud, due to his nervousness, Aretha looked at Erwin, trying to send him signs, to talk to him, without talking. “We need her in the Survey Corps. Her knowledge is worth a lot, and we will take her on expeditions”, because of the counsellors nervousness, he knew they wanted the law suit to end as fast as possible, and it did not matter how, so a short sentence was enough. They agreed, putting up own conditions, but they were manageable, Erwin told himself. If it would be actually managable, could not be said just like that.

_“Just let me talk, I will know how”, Erwin said to the two other commanders, before the lawsuit started._

_“She is just a simple criminal, stole something and was caught, how hard will it be?”, Nile asked, confused by Erwin's behaviour. The blond man knew, what Aretha had done, and did not know how to handle the situation. Gaining knowledge by stealing, breaking and entering, was the worst way, but Aretha had knowledge, about a lot of things outside the walls, about the world and the old culture mostly, but still enough to be helpful within the Survey Corps._

_“She is not just a criminal”, Pixis understood, why Erwin was so careful._

_The man met Aretha, and he was overwhelmed by her appearance, not knowing how he should behave. Pixis was the one to take Aretha into custody, and for the first time, he was not sure, whether he should or let her go._

_Nevertheless he took her into custody and that caused Erwin to go wild._

_“Let him talk, Dok”, the elder said to the confused commander. “You will not be able to do something. The counsellors will do anything to get over with the law suit, and it does not matter, if Aretha will be hanged or go to the Survey Corps, because in the end, it will be the same."_  

Remembering the conversation, Nile was happy, that he was warned. The woman was new to him, new in every way. A new feeling came up in him, which he never felt before, being a mix out of admiration, inquisitiveness and sympathy, that made him unable to talk, to even think of something to say.

At the end of the law suit, Aretha joined the Survey Corps, and Nile felt numb, he did not really understand what happened, he just did.

Levi walked up to Aretha, grabbed her arm and walked out with her, to get to the carriage, which should bring them to the headquarter of the Survey Corps.

In the carriage, Erwin was already waiting for them, unsure of how he should greet Aretha. After all they did not see each other sot twenty four years, not hearing of each other, only hoping that the other was still alive. Hearing a door being opened, the blond man turned his head toward the noise.

Blue met blue. Two ocean's crushing into each other, becoming one, just like twenty four years ago. Stepping in, sitting down and the gaze still on Erwin, all these actions were done with graze and the movements unerring, as it was usual for her. Nothing had changed with Aretha, but Erwin had. “It is a sunny, cloudless Thursday afternoon”, a smile made its way on Aretha's lips, and Levi opened the handcuffs. While doing so, he glanced at Erwin, who nodded at him to say 'thank you'.

Closing the door, Erwin and Aretha were left behind, alone in the carriage, surrounded by silence. “Thank you”, her eyes were not expressing, if she was really thankful, however Erwin knew she really was. “As soon as we arrive, you will start to train. On every week day you will train, begging at five am and ending at eight pm. You will have half an hour to recover and at half past eight, you will help me, until we are finished”, the way Erwin talked to Aretha, made the black haired woman feel guilty, for putting the commander through all of this. “I am sorry”, she mumbled, grabbing the man's hand.

Her palms felt rough, not soft any more, causing Erwin to wonder, what she had done in the time, they did not see each other. Nevertheless he embraced her hand with his, sharing his warmth with her, locking their gazes again. “Just behave yourself, that is all I want you to do.”

For the rest of the drive, they did not talk, they felt relieved and happy seeing one another again. Even though there was so much to talk about, to tell the other, they stayed silent, embracing their hands. As the carriage stopped, Aretha used as much grace as she used to get in, to get out of it again, Erwin following her out, holding her wrists as he did so. Stepping on to the grass, a brown haired woman approached them. Her glasses were bound to her head, preventing to fall off, and she was smiling as she walked toward them, causing Aretha to smile as well.

“You must be Aretha Mockingbird! Wow, the rumours are true, what a significant appearance you have. I am Hange Zoë, a squad leader and scientist. Investigating the titans is my main occupation, and hearing of you made me curious. If you could help me?”, the woman was really joyful meeting the other, blue eyed woman. As Aretha looked into her brown eyes, she knew, that Hange was someone she could trust, when she needed to. The eyes radiated joy, interest in the world and also love.

“Aretha Mockingbird, would offer you my hand but”, wiggling her arms, to which her hands were attached, that Erwin was holding, Aretha made clear, that she had not the privilege of offering her hand to greet the new friend. “I will get her to her cell”, Hange said to Erwin, who nodded in agreement. “Aretha will start to train tomorrow, today she will help out you and me.” Levi walked by, greeted Hange and went away with Erwin, leaving the two women to themselves. Aretha watched Erwin walk away with the rather short man, her mind off track, trying to figure out, what will happen next.

Grabbing her shoulder, the brown haired woman signalised the black haired one to walk toward the cell. Even if Aretha was treated like a criminal, she did not feel like one. In her opinion she had not done anything bad, having every right to know, what was happening in the world she knew. “This is your bed and there is your desk. I already prepared some notebooks, so you can write down everything you know”, the cell was grey, but due to the light, which was given by the torches, it seemed as if it was brown, giving it a nicer, even friendlier atmosphere. But the smell was not nice, it smelled as if someone peed in the corner. Nonetheless Aretha tried to ignore it, thanking Hange for showing her, where to go. “I will get you in two minutes, have to prepare something, just start writing down the things-”, Aretha interrupted her by ending the sentence for her. “I know, get going please. I did not shower for the last four days”, chuckling, Hange left.

With careful steps, the woman approached the chair, grabbing its back. The chair was made of wood, so by touching it, Aretha felt the well-known rough surface, smiling. A loud noise could be heard, echoing, as she moved the chair to sit down. The notebook was placed neatly in the middle of the table, with a pencil on it, which Aretha grabbed and started to write down. 'Before the walls were built, people lived all over the planet. The earth is a round ball, with a lot of ocean's, sea's and much bigger then the we could imagine.' Some time passed and Hange returned, getting Aretha to the showers.

“I need to watch over you. A command from above Erwin, so please, do not feel to strange”, Hange informed the dirty woman, who only smiled as she started to undress her green shirt, which was covered in mud and dust. “No problem with me, but please turn around”, and so Hange did, holding the uniform, which Aretha was supposed to wear. As the woman was done undressing, she turned on the shower and moved the shower curtain in front of her stall, causing Hange to turn around.

“You know”, Aretha started, as she was rubbing soap over her bod to get rid of the mud and dust. The warm water was relaxing her body, washing of the stress and tension as well as dirt. Aretha did not know, how much she needed it, until her pale hand touched the running warm, clean fluid. “I saw a lot of the walls. What is in here, but I never managed to see the outside, so I am actually psyched.” Hange smiled sadly, knowing the death rate of each expedition, as well as risk, that Aretha could die during her first one. “Well, it is quite dangerous, but it will be worth it.” The brown haired woman could not see the amused smile on the others face, who remembered the things she said to the scouts in the court.

“Our souls desire is so strong, that it manages to silences all other desires. Even the desire to survive.”

The rest of the time, in which Aretha washed her body, Hange thought of the sentence. Was she really ready to die? The sound of metal being moved on metal filled the shower room, as Aretha was done. A towel was around her waist, covering her private body parts, so the squad leader could hand her the uniform.

“Thank you”, turning around, Aretha revealed her shoulder blades to Hange. The brown haired woman gasped as she saw a deep scare on the right shoulder blade. It looked like an 'E' and an 'I', causing her to wonder, where she get the scar from. “Why is 'EI' standing on your back?”, she asked, feeling the urge to glide her finger over it, to feel whether it was blended into the rest of her back or not. Facing Hange, Aretha through a questioning expression toward her, to realise seconds later, what the woman talked about.

“I made a mistake once, and every time my scar aches, I remember the night.” Trying to shrug of the memory, Aretha closed the shower curtain again, getting changed. As she was done completely, she smiled at Hange, wanting to start as fast as possible with the training. The blue eyes were not expressing her excitement, nevertheless the ocean was quite and deep. Hange was overwhelmed by the view, not knowing what to say.

_“She can manipulate people as she likes, so be careful”, Erwin instructed the squad leader, who could not believe what she was told._

_“ _I will, it can not be that bad”, Erwin fixed her with a hard gaze, causing her to rethink the situation she was in._ _

Remembering the conversation, the commander and she had, Hange realised, that behind these blue eyes was something dangerous, which she could not identify, causing her to get more careful.


End file.
